“Ow,” I whispered, as sunlight stung my eyes. My back throbbed like a large wound, every breath creating waves of pain.
Someone gasped.
Footsteps hurried, until someone leaned over me.
A face hovered above mine. As my vision cleared, the face slowly resolved into that of Reshma, her sharp features contorted in worry and fear.
“You’re awake,” she whispered in disbelief.
“Yeah,” I answered, letting her hold my hand.
I noticed the poor girl’s eyes were red and puffy, surrounded by dark circles.
“How are you feeling?” she asked softly.
“I got stabbed, so not very well,” I rasped.
“Ass,” she whispered and went to fetch some water.
She lifted a cup and carefully pressed it to my lips. I drank a little, then coughed, pain flaring in my back.
I lay there, trying to control my breathing.
“What day is it?”
“It’s been three days since the attack. Your mother has been bawling her eyes out every day. The healer said you wouldn’t survive. It was a deep stab, straight into your gut.”
I closed my eyes.
What good is strength if I’m as weak to a blade as everyone else?
One mistake, and everything ended on the castle floor.
“I’ll recover,” I told her.
She studied me. “You sound certain.”
I looked at her face, worry etched in her expression. I decided I would rather risk death than not trust my women.
“I have a blessing.”
Silence.
Her brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“A blessing of health. From God.”
It took a while for her to lift her jaw back up. “You’re serious?”
“Yes. Don’t tell anyone. They might try more extreme measures if they knew.”
She didn’t respond for a heartbeat, then cupped my face with a hand and bent down to kiss me; fierce and desperate.
I tried to hug her, but my arms felt like lead. I let them flop back on the bed.
She pulled back, tears falling from her eyes.
“Asshole,” she whispered, her voice quivering. “If you had died, Laira would be devastated, and Nanon would be doomed!”
“And you?”
“Shut up!” she tried to playfully slap me, but stopped midway.
I grabbed her hand and kissed it.
“I’m sorry. I got complacent.”
“You think?” she said angrily, wiping her tears away, and knelt beside me. “Your guards from Chadom look like they want to commit suicide. Why didn’t you keep them or the Royal knights with you?”
“I was inside the castle. I didn’t think my cousins would be dumb enough to attack me after the proclamation.”
She was about to retort, when the sight of my failing strength stilled her tongue.
“Rest. I’ll yell at you properly once you’re recovered.”
I nodded weakly and let sleep take me again.
The next time I woke up, the sun was going down, or getting up. Someone gasped upon hearing the noise of me moving my head.
“Jack! My child.”
Jack’s mother came close, hands trembling with visible effort to not hug me.
“Mother,” I said weakly.
“Thank God you are alive. How are you feeling?”
“Terrible, but I will recover.”
She tried to smile, as tears gathered in her eyes.
“You need to take better care of yourself!” she said, brushing my hair back.
“I know. I’ve been talked to already,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“You… you and Lady Reshma are really close, aren’t you?” she asked hesitantly. “She’s been crying and sitting here every day. The Queen?”
“She knows. You don’t want to know the details.”
She seemed like she wanted to say more but held her tongue. “She seems very convinced that you will be fine.”
“I will, mother. I promise.”
She kept thanking God as she helped me sip water.
Two days later, Theo, Sir Grimric and Moore arrived along with Reshma. All three men went on their knees at the sight of me.
“We have failed in our duty, my lord. Punish us as you will,” Grimric said.
“Not your fault, Sir. I got complacent, and paid the price for it. The assailants?”
“One is under guard. The other was found dead with a snapped neck.”
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I did kick him pretty hard.
“Did you find anything?”
“He is one of the castle guards. Says he was avenging his father,” Reshma replied from the doorway. “One of your father’s sergeants who died at the Battle of the Bog. Records confirm it.”
“Not an assassination attempt then. Just my foolishness,” I said, careful not to chuckle.
One mistake that wouldn’t have just killed me but sealed the Cha and Nanon’s fate as well. I would have to be careful in the future.
“I’ve had your cousins confined to their chambers. They don’t look guilty, though.”
“I doubt they are. Making the Crown their enemy wouldn’t help them in any way.”
I turned my head to face the men. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Just push against my decisions if you notice me making mistakes.”
“We will,” Theo replied.
After two more days, I could sit up, propped by a dozen pillows.
“I’ve never seen someone recover from a wound that deep, and certainly not this quickly. It’s a miracle!” the healer proclaimed.
“Thank you for your effort, but please, can you stop poking and prodding me?” I asked. “You’ve been doing it for half an hour.”
“My apologies, Sire,” he said sheepishly, then changed the bandages and left.
Later, a different set of people entered the bedroom. Reshma, escorted by Elric the Steward and Sir Moore.
“God truly smiles upon you, Sire. We have been praying for your swift recovery,” Elric said.
“Thank you, Elric. How is the treasury doing?” I asked the middle aged man with a balding head.
“It’s almost empty, Sire,” he said nervously.
I exhaled. “I am going to inject a few thousand crowns in the economy; that should help. Lady Reshma should have given you a list of items I wanted to buy?”
“The… hundred cartloads of year-old top soil from barns,” he said hesitantly, “and as much pyrite I can acquire discreetly. They will take some time, Sire. The sheep, cattle, horses and grain can be acquired within two fortnights.”
“Why that long?”
He looked at Moore, who answered in his stead.
“The county has not fared well in the wake of your father’s demise, Sire,” he said, looking ill. “Ironfeld captured Blackrain the moment word of the deaths of our bannermen reached them. They then proposed marriage between Lady Isanna and Lord Ulric shortly afterwards.”
“To lay a claim on the entire county through their child,” I voiced his thoughts out loud, my mood souring further.
Our biggest iron mine sat next to Blackrain. Recovering the mining town was not optional, but I only had a force of hundred at my disposal. I would rather not ask Laira or the Cha Elders for help, but I would if I have to.
“My cousins didn’t do anything?”
“They had to capitulate. With more than half our bannermen dead, brothers, uncles and nephews are at each other’s throats for the vacant positions. The whole county is in turmoil.
Count Ironfeld generously offered to send his own soldiers to keep the peace, but your cousins wisely refused. They had to spend a lot of coin to hire mercenaries from the south instead. That’s why the treasury is almost empty.”
“Where are these mercenaries at the moment?”
“Patrolling the surrounding lands.”
“I want to meet their leader.”
“I will arrange it, Sire.”
“Good. Any more bad news, my lady?”
“Your younger cousin was discreet, but both of them abused their positions to benefit themselves in one way or another.”
“You mean they raped a bunch of girls, and stole coin that wasn’t theirs?”
She nodded silently.
“Continue their confinement and identify their core supporters.”
“I will.”
“Also document the proof of their crimes and prepare proper compensation for the girls. Use the coin we brought over, if you have to.”
She nodded silently and left me to rest.
A few more days passed and I grew strong enough to stay upright without support. The stabbing pain subsided into a dull ache, which turned into a warning tingling if I moved too much.
It was much faster than any human could be expected to recover. Didn’t mean I couldn’t get antsy, though.
One evening, Reshma entered my bedroom, a bowl of soup in her hands.
“Someone’s not in a good mood,” she said, looking at my expression.
“I’m sick of being cooped up in this room, and not hungry right now.”
She put the bowl down, locked the door and turned around slowly, her smile turning sultry.
“Then perhaps you are in mood for something else?”
She sashayed closer, her hips moving in a motion that stirred my loins.
You can read the Full NSFW scene . I'd put it here, but I don't want risk getting banned.
There is also another non-canon extra scene with a new woman. Just for paid .
After helping me release some tension, she pulled up my trousers, tied them up, then sensually slid up to face me, careful not to put any weight on me.
“Did that help lift your mood, my beast?”
“Very much,” I said, planting a kiss on her nose.
As she lay beside me, I slipped an arm around her, and we eventually drifted to sleep.
The next day, I nagged my people into letting me sit in the balcony. Theo and Ethan helped me get up and walk the few feet, while Sir Hagen watched helplessly.
The poor boys hadn’t left me alone for a single moment. Even Sir Grimric was impressed by their dedication and had said so out loud.
As I sat at a table, sipping hot tea, a picturesque vista of the Erz mountain range extended in front of me. This close to the mountains, even the summer wind was refreshingly cool.
Theo, Ethan and Sir Hagen stiffened as Moore arrived with a man in tow. The tall knight was in his early forties. His prominent brow and thick beard were pretty unremarkable compared to the scar running from his temple to jaw.
A veteran with significant battlefield experience.
“Sire, this is Sir Godwin of the Great Company,” Moore introduced the man.
His sharp, calculating eyes met mine, making my back tingle with warning.
Good.
A blessing didn’t make me invincible. I still needed good men.
One of whom might be standing right in front of me.
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